Artists’ blockbuster creations make Lego convention a landmark event

Thursday

BrickUniverse Lego Fan Convention will take place Saturday and Sunday in Kasich Hall at the Ohio Expo Center.

An artist by inclination, Jonathan Lopes has created music, paintings, sculptures, sketches and wooden pieces.

Creativity has been a lifelong passion for the native of Brooklyn, New York, but one medium holds the most allure for him.

“It just happens to be Lego where I’ve immersed myself,” Lopes said.

He was 27 years old when he bought his first Lego building set as an adult — an X-Wing spaceship from the “Star Wars” series. After spending 18 years as a professional Lego artist, Lopes hopes his character designs, painterly murals and architectural models serve as proof that the building blocks are hardly just for children.

“I really want Lego to be appreciated as an art medium,” said Lopes, 49.

This weekend, he will travel from his home in San Diego — where he lives with his wife, a children’s book author — to be one of four professional Lego artists exhibiting his work in Columbus during the BrickUniverse Lego Fan Convention. Taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Ohio Expo Center, the convention also features Lego versions of Columbus and Ohio landmarks constructed by the Ohio Lego User’s Group.

Though not an official Lego event, this is the second time BrickUniverse will travel to Columbus since Greyson Beights founded it in 2015 to foster engineering ingenuity across generations.

“BrickUniverse is a Lego lover’s paradise,” Beights said. “The event is about inspiring creativity and learning through Lego.”

Kasich Hall on the state fairgrounds will be the site for live Lego builds, areas for children to construct their own designs and vendors selling related products. In addition to rare sets, guests also can purchase portraits of themselves stylized in the image of the iconic Lego figurines.

“It’s not like just going to Walmart or Target,” Beights said. “It’s cool, unique items that you can’t find anywhere else.”

Visitors may particularly enjoy marveling at intricate designs dreamed up by professional Lego artists. Chicago-based Lego artist Rocco Buttliere, for example, will exhibit more than 50 Lego models of famous international landmarks such as Westminster Palace in London and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is the largest skyscraper in the world.

Lopes plans to display nearly 40 of his designs, including one of his newest creations: a 6-foot-tall model of One Hanson Place in Brooklyn (formerly known as the Williamsburg Savings Bank). He hopes those who see his work come away with a sense of awe and an understanding for the potential of making a creative career working with Lego bricks.

Although he still has a day job in book publishing, he works tirelessly doing custom-ordered Lego designs and traveling the country for BrickUniverse events — 12 are taking place this year. He also recently had a book published by Abrams Image about his Lego art work.